Another One Bites the Dust
by callmeditzy
Summary: This is my entry to jackiehydelover's alternate finale challenge. There are vague spoilers included, so please keep in mind before reading. ED, JH, and group.
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own That 70s Show.

A/N: This is my submission for the alternate finale challenge going on over at fanforum. It kind of includes SPOILERS, so don't read it if you don't want to know some of what's coming up later in the 8th season. Basically, Fez and Jackie have very recently decided they like each other and are dating, but it's pretty new and not serious. Red and Kitty are moving to Florida with Bob. This will have two parts (I hope to have part two up in the next day or two). I know it's hella long, but I had a long list of interactions I wanted to see happen in the finale, so there you go.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Part One

Kitty Forman was bent over in front of the oven in her kitchen. When she straightened back up, she flung a pan of cookies on to the range with a thud. She was quite disheveled: her hair a mess and her face and clothes covered in flour. She had been baking all day, and the kitchen showed it.

The screen door slid open and Donna entered the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the disaster in front of her.

"Oh my God, Mrs. Forman! Did Betty Crocker throw up in here?"

Kitty jumped a little in her spot, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and squealed. "Donna, my baby's coming home today! I have to feed him. God knows what he's been eating in Africa."

"Well, from what he tells me, it's foods from all the basic food groups: mush, slop, mushy slop and sloppy mush."

Kitty was horrified. "Oh my poor Eric."

"He did say he can't wait to chew something again. Got anything chewy in here?" Donna surveyed the room.

"Are you kidding me? I've got chewy, crunchy, sweet, salty…a little bit of everything." Then, with forced cheerfulness, she added, "I've got to pack all my love in before Red and I leave for Florida and you drag him away to Madison with you."

Donna sighed wearily. "Come on, Mrs. Forman. We've been over this. The Spring semester is getting started and I really need to-"

"I know, I know…'get an education'."

Donna was getting annoyed. "Well, yeah. I've put it off long enough and I feel like if I don't do it now, I never will."

Kitty knew Donna was right. "I know, Honey. I know." She patted Donna's arm then scrunched up her face for a moment, thinking. "Why does Eric have to go with you, again?"

"Because. We've been apart a long time." Donna's voice was steadily rising. "And we got back together _over the phone_. We need some time to just be together and figure out what we're going to do." She paused for a moment, calming herself and lowering her voice. "I've really missed him, Mrs. Forman."

Kitty looked at her blankly for a moment, taking it all in, before speaking. "Oh _you've_ missed him, have you?"

Donna rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming next.

"Did you suffer through hours of labor to bring him into the world just so he could leave you for a country that doesn't even feed him properly!" she yelled, then crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly. "I've missed him more!"

This was ridiculous. "Oh come on!" Donna screamed back. "That's just-"

A familiar voice interrupted them from the sliding glass door.

"Aw, I feel so loved."

Without bothering to look away from each other, both women responded angrily, "Shut _up_, Eric!" leaving him standing in the doorway, bewildered.

As soon as his name left their lips, Kitty and Donna realized what they had said and who was there. Simultaneously, they rushed to him.

Donna reached him first and threw her arms around him, almost knocking him over. Before he could respond, Kitty grabbed Donna by the shoulders and pulled her off him. Donna spun around, dazed and trying to re-orient herself. "Hey!" she protested, returning to push Kitty away.

Stunned, Eric wriggled free and backed away from both of them. "Okay, okay," he choked out, his voice breaking. "You're going to break me in half!"

Kitty and Donna stood on either side of him, breathless and glaring at one another. Finally, Eric spread his arms wide, cocking his head to the side and gesturing with his hands for both women to come to him. They each hugged him around one side of his body and all three smiled. Eric turned to his left and kissed Kitty on the cheek, causing her to beam. Then he turned to his right to kiss Donna's lips. Satisfied that she had been first, and pleased to see her son so happy, Kitty looked on with a smile. Her smile slowly faded, though, as Eric and Donna's kiss continued and became more passionate.

Embarrassed, she cleared her throat and broke free of the embrace. She backed away slowly. "I'm just going to check on the…thing in the…living room."

She scurried out of the kitchen, leaving Eric and Donna to wrap their arms around each other fully and continue reconciling properly.

_Later that afternoon, in Donna's bedroom._

Donna sat at her desk, tapping her foot. Jackie was standing behind her, curling iron in one hand and a bottle of hairspray in the other.

"Would you sit still, Donna? I'm trying to work a miracle here, and you're not cooperating. Do you _want_ a giant, ugly burn on your head for your date night with Eric!"

Donna stilled herself. "I'm sorry, Jackie. I'm just nervous, I guess."

"Nervous? To be alone with Eric? Pfft!"

"Come on, Jackie. It's been…a really long time and I just don't want it to be weird."

"Oh, it's going to be weird. It's Eric." She shuddered.

"You know what? I don't want to talk about this with you."

Jackie just smiled, knowing Donna knew she was just giving her a hard time.

"Let's talk about you. What are you going to do about Fez?"

Jackie groaned. "I don't know, Donna. I know he's going to ask me to go to Chicago with him, but…I don't like Chicago. I have very bad memories of that place."

Donna just nodded knowingly, careful not to upset the curling iron clamped in her hair.

"But on the other hand," Jackie continued, weighing her options, "he _is_ the perfect guy for me. Remember that list I made?"

"I remember the list." She mostly remembered the ridiculousness of it all.

Jackie must not have picked up on Donna's tone, because she continued as if she didn't even hear her. "Plus, Michael and Brooke are there, so we could hang out with them. And Betsy. I mean, she _is_ my goddaughter after all."

Donna rolled her eyes, but didn't comment.

"Besides, if I don't go, I'll be all alone. You and Eric are going to Madison, the Formans are going to Florida with your dad. My dad's here, but he's…temporarily inaccessible."

"Hyde'll still be here."

Jackie stopped curling and just smirked at her in the mirror. "Great. We could both be here. Not talking, not hanging out. Sounds like a blast!"

Donna didn't respond. She didn't know what to say about the state of Jackie and Hyde's relationship, or what was left of it. It was a mess.

"Well, it sounds to me like you're not sure about Fez. And if you're not sure, you shouldn't go to Chicago. I told you before you could come to Madison with me and Eric."

Jackie had finished Donna's hair and put the curling iron down. She sat on the edge of her bed, facing her and smiling sincerely. "I know, Donna, and I appreciate it."

"So you'll think about it?"

Jackie nodded. "I'll think about it."

Both girls stood up and hugged, Jackie standing on tip-toe. They broke apart and Jackie walked toward the bedroom door. Before she reached it, she turned back around.

"Donna?"

"Yeah?" Donna was applying another coat of lip gloss in the mirror.

"You look really pretty," Jackie said softly before smiling and leaving through the door.

Donna sat, stunned but touched by her best friend's words.

_Meanwhile, in the basement…_

Eric and Hyde were cleaning out the basement. The couch could barely be seen behind the four large boxes sitting in front of it: "Florida", "Eric", "Steven", and "Garage Sale".

Hyde was bent over in front of the bookshelf, retrieving a box. "Hey Forman. What about this?"

Eric turned around in the shower to see what Hyde was holding. He smiled when he saw the letters spelling 'Candyland'. "Give it to Fez."

"You don't have any money stashed in there, do you?"

"No, man." Eric laughed, reminded that his friends knew every one of his hiding places.

Hyde just smirked as he returned his attention to the shelves.

Eric emerged shortly from the shower, holding the stupid helmet in front of him. "I don't think there's any need for discussion about where _this_ baby belongs."

Hyde turned to look. "No question. We'll give it to Kelso tomorrow."

Eric walked over to sit on the arm of the couch, the helmet still in his lap. "Man, I can't believe my mom roped him into helping out at the garage sale, too. You know, if she ever enters the Mrs. America pageant? Her talent will be 'guilting young men into performing undesirable tasks'."

"Tell me about it." Hyde moved to sit in his chair. "I had barely even moved in here when she had me doing slave labor at the last garage sale."

Eric laughed, remembering Hyde's special brownies and what happened when his mom and dad and the Pinciottis got ahold of them. "That's right. And you got my parents baked!"

"Well, someone had to liven the place up. That whole 'Cleaver family' thing you all had going on over here was creeping me out."

Eric looked at him sincerely. "I'm glad you did, man."

"Did what?"

"Move in here. Stay here. It was…it was great having my best friend here every day."

"Jesus, Forman." Hyde started to complain about the girly show of emotion, but then Eric's words sunk in and he reconsidered. "Well, I'm glad I did, too. I mean…thank you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you, dumbass. If you hadn't asked your folks to let me stay…" He took a deep breath. "I don't know what would have happened to me. Seriously, man. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." He swallowed over the lump in his throat.

Eric knew Hyde was uncomfortable with the conversation, so he changed the subject. "Yeah, Hyde. About that…where exactly is 'here'? I mean, what are you doing with your life, young man?" He sounded just like Red..

"What do you mean? I'm runnin' the store, hangin' out…I'm livin' large, man!"

Eric looked behind him at the box marked "Steven".

"Hyde, everything you own, and some of what I own, I might add, are in that box. And in two days, you won't even have a place to put it!"

"Okay, honestly? I haven't figured it out yet. Everything's happened so fast: your parents selling the house, you and Donna leaving, Fez moving to Chicago…"

Eric interrupted him. "Did you know he's going to ask Jackie to go with him? He's going to do it at Mom and Dad's going away party tomorrow night."

"Huh." Eric had clearly expected more of a reaction, so Hyde spoke again. "Dude, what's up with everyone asking Jackie life-altering questions at your parents' parties?"

"I think…and I could be way off base here, but…I think it has something to do with the fact that Jackie likes to be the center of attention."

Hyde laughed. "Likes it? She lives for it."

Eric looked at him quizzically. "So it doesn't bother you? Jackie and Fez?"

Hyde shrugged his shoulders. "Naw, man. Why should it bother me?" His face remained unchanged as he rose from his chair and returned to the bookshelves.

Eric just shook his head as he stood and headed back toward the shower, muttering "No reason" under his breath.

_That night, in Donna's bedroom…_

Eric and Donna lay naked in her bed. Eric was on his back, arms spread out, while Donna rested her head on his chest. Her smile was happy; his was ecstatic.

"Remind me to thank your dad," Eric said, still a little breathless.

"Um…_ew_!" Donna contorted her face in disgust as she raised her head to look him in the eye. "I don't know how they did it in Africa, but here in Wisconsin? We don't ruin our post-coital bliss by mentioning our parents. Especially mine."

"Donna, I'm just glad that he decided to go out tonight and left us with the house to ourselves. I mean, neither one of us has any money for a hotel, and my house…well, my house was out of the question." He sliced his hand through the air to make his point.

"Why? We've done it there before." A wide smile spread across Donna's face as she remembered those times.

"Look. I was nervous enough about tonight. I didn't need Red on the other side of the wall, waiting to kick my ass." His eyes widened in fear as he contemplated the possibility of his father catching them.

"You were nervous?"

"What?" Eric put his hand to his chest as he made a show of looking around. "Who said that?"

"You did, dillhole," she teased.

"Hmmm. Interesting theory," he muttered, as if to himself, as he rubbed his chin with his fingers.

Donna just laughed softly as she lowered her head back to Eric's chest. As he played with her hair, she closed her eyes and smiled. She hadn't felt this good in a long time.

"So…the apartment's nice?"

"It's great, Eric. You're gonna love it."

"Well, I'm just glad you let Hyde check it out before you signed the lease. I need a place worthy of my masculine sensibilities."

"Don't worry, there's plenty of room for your spaceships and action dollies in the second bedroom. It's the perfect place for us to begin 'living in sin'," Donna said, using airquotes.

"Who said that?"

"Gee, I don't know…you're mother?" Donna laughed. "Don't worry about it. I don't care."

"Well I do. Donna, I'm tired of feeling like we have to defend our relationship all the time. I mean, after everything we've been through, how can anyone doubt that we're going to be together forever?"

"Maybe because we keep breaking up and running away from wedding ceremonies?"

Eric nodded, conceding the point. "Well, no more Donna. Do you hear me? No more! You're stuck with me for good and if it's gonna take matching gold bands and a joint checking account for the rest of the world to see that, then so be it!"

"Eric, what are you say-"

"I'm saying…let's get married!"

Donna narrowed her eyes. "Is that supposed to be some kind of proposal? 'Cause it sounds more like you're clubbing me over the head and dragging my back to your cave."

"Is either way more likely to get a Yes out of you?"

Donna thought for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. "Not really," she stated simply, smiling.

Eric returned her smile. "Seriously, Donna. I love you. I have always loved you and I want us to be together forever. I don't want to wait any longer to start our life together."

"Neither do I, Eric." Donna's eyes were filled with tears.

"So…engaged again?"

Donna nodded her head, grinning widely. He lowered his head and kissed her several times in succession. When they finally broke apart, they pressed their foreheads together. After a moment, Donna pulled away abruptly. "We've gotta tell your parents. Again." She was not looking forward to that conversation.

"Don't worry, Donna. They're leaving for Florida in two days. We can call them once we're settled in Madison. Red can't kick my ass long distance."

Donna smiled, impressed at his deviousness. "I knew I loved you for a reason."

_The next day, in the basesment…_

Eric and Fez were still cleaning up the basement. Kelso had arrived to help, but he was mostly concerned with making sure nothing good got sold in the garage sale. He spent most of the day searching for small treasures.

"God, you've got a lot of stuff. You've even got stuff inside _other_ stuff," Kelso marveled as he moved a box away from the wall so he could take the lid off. He noticed a bunch of wadded-up papers in the corner of the floor that was now exposed. "And _trash_ behind stuff, too!" He bent down to pick one of the paper balls up and smoothed it out. It was a label from a beer bottle. "Awesome. Beer!" There was some scribbling on the other side, so he turned it over and read out loud, "I'm sorry I said I don't know, because I do know." He furrowed his brow in confusion. "What is this? Some kind of 'Chinese Fortune Beer'?"

"What are you talking about?" Eric left the broom to rest against the stair railing and walking over to where Kelso stood. Fez put his magazine down and turned to listen as well.

"There's writing on the back of these beer labels. Look, here's another one. 'I know I should have told you before you left, but I do want to marry you'."

Eric had taken the first label from Kelso and was inspecting it. His jaw dropped as he realized whose handwriting it was. Kelso still hadn't. He read another label. "I hope it's not too late because I love you…_Jackie_!"

As soon as he read her name, Kelso screamed. Fez gasped. Eric quickly snatched the labels from Kelso's hand and added them to the one he had been holding. "Kelso, man, I think these are private."

"What's private?" Hyde asked as he walked down the stairwell. Eric, Kelso and Fez simultaneously turned towards the unexpected voice.

"Um…nothing," Kelso choked out.

"Yeah?" Hyde asked rhetorically, not believing them. He walked over to Eric. "Whatcha got there, Forman?"

Eric just stared at Hyde as he let him take the items in question from him.

As he realized what he was now holding, Hyde's face darkened.

Kelso was still in shock. "You really were going to propose to her, weren't you?"

Hyde was silent for a moment before answering. "Looks that way," he said dryly, indicating the evidence in his hand.

Kelso walked closer to his friend. "Hyde, man, if I had known…" he began apologetically.

Hyde cut him off. "Don't worry about it, man. It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done. I thought I threw these out," he added to himself under his breath.

"When did you write these, Hyde?" Eric's voice was quiet.

Hyde sighed, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to explain himself. "Right after you left for Africa. Look, I decided to go get Jackie in Chicago, but I didn't know what I was going to say to her. I wrote some crap down so I wouldn't sound like a moron."

"Wow," Eric breathed, still stunned. "I had no idea."

"Just forget about it, all right? It's no big deal," he told them all emphatically. "And if anyone mentions it again, I'll kick your ass."

The boys were silent, all lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Red's voice bellowed from upstairs. "Eric! Get your ass up here. And bring the tall one!"

Eric looked at Kelso, who walked over to Hyde and measured himself against him. Deciding he had a good three inches on him, he told him, "Guess he means me," and followed Eric up the stairs, leaving Hyde and Fez alone.

Hyde put the labels he had been folding in his back pocket and sighed wearily as he sat down in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Fez watched his movements silently before finally speaking up. "You really loved her."

Hyde just looked at Fez through his sunglasses. He didn't answer him, but he didn't deny it either. After a moment, he put his feet back on the floor and placed his hands on his knees.

"Look, Fez. Just because you guys found out my 'big secret' doesn't mean anything's changed. Jackie and I are over. She's with you now. You deserve to be happy, man." He mustered up as much sincerity as he could. He stood up, patted Fez on the shoulder, and retreated to his room.

Fez was alone in the basement, still stunned, and utterly confused.

_That night, in the Formans' living room…_

Donna and Jackie were standing by the kitchen door, surveying the Formans' going-away party. There were some neighbors and several co-workers of Kitty's that the girls had never seen before. Kelso and Eric were talking by the stairs, but there was no sign of Fez or Hyde.

"So…have you figured out what you're going to say to Fez yet?" Donna was asking Jackie.

"Actually, I'm hoping something comes to me in the moment."

"Good plan. Nothing better than making major life decisions on a whim in front of a room full of strangers."

"Oh shut up Donna," Jackie said dismissively. "It's easy for you. You've known you were going to end up with Eric forever."

"I wasn't always so sure, Jackie. We broke up for a year because I didn't know what I wanted. Remember when I…"

Jackie cut her off, exasperated. "We're talking about _me_, Donna. Your future is settled. You're moving to Madison with Eric and getting married and having a million of his skinny, big-headed lollipop children. _I'm_ the one having a crisis here!"

"Sorry for being so selfish," Donna said dryly as Jackie threw her arms around her for a hug.

"That's what I like to see!"

The girls turned to see Kelso approaching, with Eric following closely behind. They looked at him with disgust and stepped away from one another. "God, Michael! You never change," Jackie chastised him.

"But you love me," said Kelso, grinning.

Jackie rolled her eyes, but then her face softened. "You're right. I did. You were my first love and I'll always remember that." She felt a little teary-eyed as she stood on her tip-toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"God Jackie! You don't gotta talk about me like I'm dying. Chicago's not that far away. You should come visit once in a while. You could baby-sit for Betsy."

"You're going to let _her_ watch your child? Oh, I'm pretty sure Child Protective Services will have something to say about that."

Jackie glared and stuck her tongue out at Eric, who stuck his out right back.

Tired of the childishness, Donna stepped in between them and changed the subject. "Eric, where's Fez? Shouldn't he be here by now?"

Hyde, who had just entered the living room through the kitchen door, spoke up. "He's not coming," he stated matter-of-factly.

"What!" shrieked Kelso. "He said he'd be here. Isn't he supposed to ask Jackie to-"

He was cut off by Eric's elbow in his ribs.

"Ow, _Eric_! It's not like it was a secret. I know, 'cause he even told _me_ and nobody ever tells me secrets."

"Well, where is he? Did he say why he wasn't coming?" Jackie asked sadly. True, she hadn't been sure about how she would answer his question, but part of her was glad someone was asking it.

"He, uh….he left this for you," Hyde told her, facing her but not meeting her eyes. He held out his hand and, in it, was a folded up piece of paper.

Jackie looked at him for a moment, not knowing what to do. This was the first direct interaction she'd had with Hyde in a while and it felt weird that he was playing go-between for her and another guy. Not wanting to extend the awkward moment, she reached her hand out to take the note, being very careful not to let their hands touch.

She opened the paper and read its contents to herself. It wasn't a long note, and when she finished reading, she remained silent, staring into middle distance.

"Well?" Donna asked. Everyone was dying to know what Fez had written, especially Hyde. He had resisted the urge to read it before giving it to Jackie. Truthfully, he had been afraid that it was some kind of sickening love note and he didn't think he could take being privy to mushiness between Jackie and Fez.

Jackie cleared her throat. She looked up from the paper, but didn't meet anyone's eyes. "He said, um…he said that he's not coming because he doesn't like goodbyes." Her voice was soft and disbelieving. "And that he's going to Chicago without me. He said he loves me but he knows that we're not in love with each other. Not like Farrah and Lee. And he doesn't want me to end up regretting my decision."

"He actually wrote that?" Eric wanted to know.

"Yeah," Jackie sighed, touched by Fez's insight and selflessness.

"No, I mean the part about Farrah and Lee. He really _is_ a girl, isn't he?"

Jackie and Donna both glared at him. "Inappropriate," was all Donna could manage to say to him.

Ignoring Eric, Jackie turned to Donna. "Well…guess I'll be going to Madison after all."

Donna just smiled at her friend sympathetically. "Come on, Jackie. Let's get you a drink," she suggested as she led her away, towards the bar.

A young girl Kelso had never seen before walked behind them. "Who is_ that_?" he whispered loudly, trying to be discreet but failing miserably.

"Oh, she's the daughter of the couple who bought the house, I think."

"Well then, she must need someone to show her around. I'm pretty familiar with the bedrooms, so I volunteer myself for the job." He grinned widely as he walked after her.

Eric shook his head at his friend, then turned back to Hyde. He followed his gaze across the room to where Jackie stood with Donna and Kitty.

"So…some letter, huh?"

"What?" Hyde mumbled absently, his mind focused elsewhere.

"Fez's letter, man. What do you think changed his mind?"

Hyde ripped his eyes from Jackie and reluctantly turned to Eric. "How should I know?" he snapped. He didn't want to let on that he knew exactly why Fez changed his mind. He didn't know if he could face it right now.

Not wanting to piss Hyde off further, Eric just said, "Hmm" and let it go.

The two boys stood side-by-side, both watching the ladies at the bar. "You know…I'm really glad me and Donna are engaged again."

Hyde just grunted.

"Yeah, I can't believe how close we came to losing each other forever. I mean, I am _so _lucky things didn't work out with her and that Randy guy. Who, by the way, got to be around Donna all the time since he worked at _your_ store, so, thanks for that."

That earned a hint of a smile from Hyde.

"Yep. Donna and I almost didn't have a second chance. Thank God _one_ of us was smart enough to make the first move."

"Donna?"

"Of course," Eric answered matter-of-factly. He stole a glance out of the corner of his eye to find that Hyde was still staring at Jackie. He hoped his words were sinking in.

"I mean, if Donna hadn't fought for us, we'd both be miserable right now. Maybe _forever_," he added slowly, drawing out the word for dramatic effect.

Hyde was silent, chewing on his bottom lip, Eric's words resonating in his mind. He had thought that he and Jackie blew their last chance in Chicago, but maybe he was wrong.

As he continued watching from the other side of the room, Hyde saw Jackie hug Kitty first and then Donna. She was obviously saying goodbye.

Eric turned to look at Hyde expectantly, willing him to do something to stop her. Hyde just looped his thumbs in his belt loops and stared at the floor, disappointing his friend.

Jackie headed toward the front door, stopping to make her excuses to Red along the way. Her hand was on the doorknob when a loud voice from the other side of the room stopped her in her tracks.

"Jackie, wait."

It was Hyde. She turned to look at him, floored. The entire room was quiet now, all eyes on either Jackie or Hyde, anxious see what would happen next.

Jackie just stood in front of the door, waiting to hear why he had stopped her.

"Um…where are you going?" He tried to sound casual. It sounded ridiculous, considering he was talking from twenty feet away and across a room full of people.

"I'm going home to pack. I'm moving to Madison tomorrow. There's nothing left for me here."

"I…" Hyde's heart pounded in his chest. Once. Twice. Three times. "Do you want some company?"

"What…packing?"

"No. In Madison."

Jackie was skeptical, but her heart plummeted into her stomach nonetheless. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why would you want to go to Madison?" she asked, holding her breath for the answer.

"There's nothing left for me here, either," he told her simply, his voice regaining strength and confidence.

"What do you think there is in Madison?" Her voice was cool, in spite of the fact that she thought she would die waiting for his answer.

"I don't know. Maybe nothing," he conceded, voicing his fear. "But I was hoping that-"

Hyde stopped himself short, suddenly very conscious of the room full of people listening to him with baited breath. He and Jackie both looked around at the anxious faces of their audience. Biting the bullet, Hyde walked over to where Jackie still stood on the landing. He asked her quietly, "Could we talk? Alone?"

Jackie gazed at him through her lashes, her eyes wide. She nodded her head silently and allowed him to lead her to the kitchen with his hand on her back.

As soon as they had passed through the swinging door, the party-goers resumed their conversations.

Donna rushed over to Eric. "Oh my _God_!" was all she could say.

"I know," he said knowingly. "They won't be back for a while."

Donna nodded, looking over her shoulder to see Kelso coming down the stairs alone. She and Eric walked over to meet him. "Man, first Fez bails, then Little Miss _I'm Only Seventeen_ turns me down flat. This party sucks. Nothing exciting ever happens around here," he complained, completely oblivious to the drama that ensued in his absence.

"Come on," Donna said, taking Eric and Kelso by the elbows. "Let's go check on Fez."

_In the kitchen…_

Jackie walked through the swinging door with her arms folded across her chest. She was confused by Hyde's outburst and angry that he had put her on the spot in front of a room full of strangers. Hyde followed her, cracking his knuckles. He was nervous.

As soon as she heard the door swing closed behind them and the noise of the party start up again, Jackie turned to face Hyde. "Well?" she demanded. She wasn't going to make this easy. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Could we do this sitting down? I feel like I need to sit."

"Fine," she responded and took Hyde's usual seat at the table. Hyde watched her, waited for her to be seated, and took a deep breath. He joined her, taking Eric's chair and removing his sunglasses.

Jackie looked at him expectantly with her eyebrows raised. She was waiting for an explanation.

"The thing is, Fez left me a note, too," he began, taking a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and placing it on the table between them.

Jackie glanced at it, not moving. "What's it say?" she asked, trying to sound disinterested even though her heart was racing.

Hyde had hoped Jackie would read it herself, but her crossed arms told him that wasn't going to happen. So he took the note and opened it himself. He cleared his throat and began to read. "_Dear Hyde_,"

Jackie wrinkled her nose at Fez's use of an endearment to address his male friend. Hyde saw her reaction and shrugged, thinking it was a little weird himself.

"_You probably know that I was planning to ask Jackie to come with me to Chicago. You probably know this because Kelso cannot keep a secret, that son of a bitch. But I have changed my mind. You are my friend and I realized today that you still love her. Your relationship may have been a blasphemy, but it was the only time you seemed happy. If there is a chance for you to be together again and happy, I think you should take it. I think she still loves you, too_."

Hyde finished reading and re-folded the note before looking up at Jackie to gauge her reaction. He had expected her to be all emotional about what Fez had said. Hell, it had hit him like a ton of bricks when he first read it. But Jackie's face was unmoved. She had flinched briefly when Hyde read the part about him still loving her, but it passed.

"So you want to come to Madison with me because _Fez_ thinks you should? Is that supposed to be romantic or something?" She stood up, thrusting her hands onto her hips.

"No, Jackie. It's not supposed to be anything," Hyde said, rising to meet her. "Look. I want to go to Madison with you because…I miss you," he said in the voice he reserved for his rare moments of vulnerability. "If you leave, we may never see each other again. And I don't want that to happen."

"Is that all?"

"No…" he answered. "Fez is right. We _were_ happy when we were together. And maybe we can be happy again…together." A small smile spread over his lips at the possibility. "But if you leave tomorrow and I stay here and we don't even give it a shot, we'll never know. I don't want to let you go and spend the rest of my life regretting it."

Jackie couldn't believe these words were coming out of Hyde's mouth. "Where is all this coming from, Steven? Ever since you left me in that hotel room six months ago, you've been nothing but mean to me."

Hyde lowered his head guiltily as she continued her rant.

"Do you have any _idea_ how hard that was for me? I loved you with my whole heart and you treated me like I was still just an annoying little girl who had a crush on you. You didn't want to work things out when you came back from Vegas, even after I told you nothing happened with Michael. No, you chose to stay married to a stripper! You didn't bat a single eyelash when Fez and I got together. And now I'm supposed to believe you want to give us another chance!"

"Jackie, I know I've been a dick this year," he agreed, laying it all out there. He tried to make her understand. "I was really messed up after what happened with Kelso and I guess I thought moving on with someone else would straighten out my head. But no matter what I did, it still drove me crazy every time I saw you. I know I took it out on you and I…I'm sorry."

He felt ashamed, remembering how he had treated her. He tried to put it out of his mind so he could continue.

"After Sam left, I realized being with her hadn't fixed anything. I still wanted you. But so much crap had happened between us and I felt like too much damage had been done for us to ever really be together again."

He picked Fez's letter up again and shook it gently. "But this letter made me think that maybe there _is_ one more chance for us. Maybe you _do_ still love me, and if you do…maybe we could try it again. That's all I'm asking, Jackie. Just a chance to try." He looked at her pleadingly. He felt exposed, his entire heart out there for Jackie to either take or stomp on.

"Do you really think it'll work this time?" she asked finally.

"I don't know," he answered honestly

Jackie rolled her eyes and exhaled in frustration. She shifted her weight as if she might leave at any second.

"Wait a minute, Jackie. Just listen to me, okay? I don't know what's going to happen if I come to Madison with you. Just like I don't know where I'm going to work or how the Packers are gonna do next Fall. But I do know that…I never stopped loving you, Jackie, and I want to be with you. And I can't imagine that that's ever going to change."

Jackie felt the wall she had built up around herself where Hyde was concerned start to crumble. It lay in pieces around her feet as he took her hands in his. He bent his legs a little so that he could look purposefully into her eyes.

"I may not _know_ if we have a future together, but I _hope_ we do. I really do, Jackie," he emphasized, trying with everything he had to convince her. "Even if it means I'll be picking out china patters and wearing a tux and getting married surrounded by rainbows and pink unicorns," he added, hoping to get a smile out of her.

Jackie did smile, but it was a pained one. "I want to believe you, Steven. But…I just don't know," she said quietly.

He dropped her hands gently. "I guess that's fair," he offered sadly.

They stood silently for a moment, both looking at the floor. Then Hyde raised his head and asked her, "Will you at least think about it?"

She nodded her head. "I promise."

Hyde smiled as she touched his chest briefly before turning and leaving through the sliding glass doors. He stood in that same spot by the table for almost a full minute, then took a deep breath. He got himself together, putting his sunglasses back on, determined to return to the party with his head held high.

He pushed the swinging door to open it, and immediately heard several loud 'thuds'. As he pushed the door all of the way into the living room, he was met with the embarrassed faces of Red, Kitty, and Bob in a pile on the floor.

"I didn't want to listen," Bob announced. He pointed at Red and Kitty. "It was _their _idea!"

…_to be continued…_


	2. Part 2

Dislaimer: No, I did not acquire the rights to That 70s Show since the last chapter.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and for your kind comments! This is the second, and final, part. I realize it's pretty J/H heavy, but what can I say? I wanted to include interactions between certain characters, and the ones I had left to do pretty much all involved Jackie and Hyde. Hope you like it!

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Part Two

Hyde sat at the kitchen table with Red, Kitty, and Bob.

"Well, I guess this is normally where you'd ask me what happened. But since you were eavesdropping, I say we just skip on ahead to the part where you tell me what I did wrong."

"Oh Steven, I thought it was romantic. Who knew you had it in you? I did!" Kitty raised her arm in the hair, squeezing her eyes shut and grinning.

Bob nodded his agreement. "Me too. But I think a song would have added a little something extra. 'Staaay…oh yeah…just a little bit loooonger….'." He, too, closed his eyes and swayed in his chair. Red looked at him like he couldn't believe he and Kitty were moving to Florida with him. Because he _couldn't believe_ he and Kitty were moving to Florida with him.

"Bob! We need to talk to Steven."

Bob stopped swaying and looked serious. "No, you're absolutely right. Go right ahead."

"Do you mind? It's really a family matter."

"I see." He tried to cover his hurt with false pride. "Well, I think the ladies may be missing me at the party anyway. Is your piano tuned?"

"Goodbye Bob."

Red and Hyde watched Bob leave as Kitty put three mugs of coffee on the table and sat down in her chair.

"Okay, let's have it. 'This came out of nowhere', 'What are you thinking, quitting your job and moving two hours away?', 'What kind of a man makes a scene like that at a party?'. C'mon, Red, I know you've got one in you."

"Actually, Steven, I was going to tell you I'm proud of you."

Hyde almost threw his neck out, turning to make sure he heard him right.

"You are?"

Kitty was just as surprised. "You _are_?"

"What are you two looking at me like that, for? Can't a man take a break from being a hard ass once a year?"

Hyde's eyes were wide and disbelieving. "But you already used this year's on Eric."

"He did?"

"Yeah, remember he gave him his Army knife?"

"Oh, that's right. That really was sweet," Kitty giggled.

"Are you two ladies done, now? I've got something to say. And if you don't shut it, I'm going to change my mind and resort to plan B. My foot in your ass."

Kitty and Hyde turned their attention away from each other and back to Red, letting him know they were listening.

Red cleared his throat. "All I'm going to say is that it's about damn time you stepped up and made some kind of decision about that girl." Realizing how harsh he still sounded, he softened his face a little. "Look, Steven. You've done all right. You made it to twenty without any major incarcerations, you graduated from high school, and you're running a business. I'm sure you'll do just fine in Madison."

"Wow. Thanks, Red."

"But now that you mention it, you_ do_ have some kind of plan don't you? For work? A place to live? You know that Burkhardt girl isn't going to sleep in your car."

Hyde nodded. "Actually, I do. I've got a call in about a job that I'm pretty sure is going to pan out. And once I get a couple paychecks, I'll find us someplace. Until then, Donna told Jackie she could stay with her and Eric. I'm sure they'd appreciate having me around, too, to keep in her in line." He laughed. "Of course, I don't know how long I'll be able to stand living with those two. Now that they're engaged again, that's all they're gonna talk about."

Hyde clamped his hand over his mouth the second he realized what he had said.

Kitty jumped up, her eyes wide. "WHAT?"

"Oh crap."

"Engaged! When did this happen?"

Red just rolled his eyes, taking the news in stride. "Oh Kitty calm down. What are you getting so worked up about? It's not like it's his first engagement. Hell, it's not even his first _secret_ engagement."

"Yeah, well, he should have learned his lesson the first time." She clenched her teeth. "I'm going to kill him."

_At Jackie and Fez's apartment…_

Jackie arrived home to find the door propped open. She peered around the room as she entered it, but there was no sign of anyone. Walking over to the couch, she tossed her purse onto the coffee table and plopped down with a sigh.

Eric appeared at the door and was surprised to see Jackie there with her face buried in her hands.

"So, I guess we're going to be roommates."

At the sound of Eric's voice, Jackie raised her head in surprise.

"What?...Oh, right. Yep, look's that way. I mean, if it's all right with you."

"Oh, it's fine with me. As long as you keep your broom in your own closet, we shouldn't have a problem," he teased as he joined her on the couch.

Jackie smiled weakly. "I promise it'll only be temporary. As soon as I find a job and save a little bit of money, I'll start looking for my own place."

"You can stay as long as you want to, Jackie." He was surprised himself, but he realized he meant it. As annoying as Jackie sometimes was, he knew she would need Donna.

"Thank you, Eric." Jackie was touched by his unusual display of kindness toward her.

"Hey, Donna needs someone around to complain about me with, right?"

"Right," Jackie laughed.

"So…what happened with Hyde?"

Jackie forced nonchalance. "Oh, nothing much. He just told me he wants to get back together and he wants to move to Madison with me. Says he still loves me."

Eric smiled, proud of his friend for finally stepping up to the plate. "He said all that?"

Jackie nodded. "It was weird. I mean, even when we were together, the only time he ever talked about his feelings was when I threatened to kick him if he didn't. And even then I had to feed him the words." She thought for a moment. "But this time, it just kind of came out of the blue."

"I wouldn't say that," Eric mumbled, thinking about the drafts of his proposal speech that Hyde had written.

"What?"

Eric shook his head. "Nevermind. So, did you give him an answer?"

Jackie sighed. "I told him I had to think about it. Oh Eric, I don't know what to do!" she wailed as she lay her head on his shoulder.

"Do you _want_ to be with him, Jackie?"

She nodded on his shoulder, so he continued. "Look. He really does love you. We both know he wouldn't have spilled his guts the way he did tonight for anyone else."

Jackie began to smile and blush slightly.

"And I know I was repulsed by the two of you in the beginning, but even I have to admit that you guys were good for each other. Before you, Hyde never would have been motivated enough to run a record store and he sure as Hell wouldn't be thinking of leaving Point Place."

Jackie raised her eyebrows, considering the validity of Eric's words.

"And Hyde was good for you, too. He never let you get away with the crap that Kelso did. Greatly reducing the amount of whining and crying and shrieking the rest of us had to put up with, I might add. I'd go so far as to say he made you downright tolerable!"

Touched, Jackie lifted her head from Eric's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Eric." Her voice was small as she hugged him.

"Don't mention it," he responded, hugging her back. "No, seriously. Don't mention it. Ever. To anyone."

Eric looked up from their embrace to see Fez standing in the doorway. He cleared his throat, disentangling himself from Jackie. Confused by his sudden movement, Jackie searched his face for an explanation. When his eyes remained focused behind her, she turned her head to see what had stolen his attention.

"Hi Fez." Jackie offered him a small smile.

"I guess you got my note." He tried to say it casually. He didn't want Jackie to think he was sad.

She nodded. "Both of them, actually."

"Oh, that. Well, I knew you would be heartbroken after I dumped you so I thought it would be nice to arrange a backup for you. I remembered what a mess you were after Kelso left you and Hyde did a pretty good job of distracting you from the pain. He distracted you all over the place, if I remember correctly. And I think I do."

It was the only explanation that Fez could come up with that didn't make him look like a complete fool. He may have lost Jackie, but he was not going to go down with his tail between his legs. It may not be much, but he did have some pride.

"Thank you for thinking of me, Fez."

"I hope that one day you can forgive me for dumping you. I just…I realized that two people as sexy as ourselves cannot make a relationship work together. You and Kelso tried it, with disastrous results. No, we have been ordained by God to share The Sexy. Like Donna shares hers with Eric, we need to share ours with others who are less fortunate."

"I understand, Fez. And you're right. I'll just have to try to accept it."

Jackie was playing along and Fez was grateful. "Do you think you'll be able to get over me?"

She nodded slowly. "I think so. In time."

Fez took her hand in his and squeezed it firmly. "Be brave."

"I'll try." Jackie was looking down into her lap. Fez bent his head down in front of hers and looked up into her eyes, willing her to raise her head. When she finally did, she smiled sadly. He opened his arms and she wrapped hers around him.

"I love you, Fez," Jackie whispered, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, too, Jackie. But only as friends. God, why is this so hard for you to accept?"

Pulling away from him, Jackie swatted him on his chest, but she was smiling,

_Later that night…_

Jackie threw open the basement door and rushed inside. "Steven?" Her eyes searched the room for him, but all they found was a bunch of boxes. Even the couch was gone, already sitting on the curb, waiting to be picked up by the garbage truck.

She knew the party was long over. All the lights upstairs were off, so she knew he couldn't still be there. She rushed into Hyde's bedroom, again yelling his name. "STEVEN!" She stopped suddenly when she saw that, except for the cot, it too, was empty.

He was gone.

In a daze, Jackie walked back out into the main room. She stumbled over to the washing machine, leaning her back against it. It was sinking in now. Hyde was gone. Really and truly gone. She covered her face with her hands and started crying, the events of the last several hours finally catching up with her.

She hardly noticed as Red came barreling down the stairs, panicked, trying to determine the source of all the yelling. When he reached the bottom step, he saw Jackie and the mystery was solved. He should have known.

"I should have known."

Jackie jumped, startled by the unexpected voice. When she looked up and saw Red, though, the floodgates open. Without thinking, she ran to him and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Red, of course, just stood there.

Jackie had begun wailing. "Oh Mr. Forman, what am I going to do!"

Red just raised his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head.

"I ran all the way over here, _in heels_, to tell Steven that I want to be with him and he's not even here! How could he just leave without waiting for my answer!"

Red's only response was to lift his left wrist in front of his face so he could check his watch. He couldn't believe he was standing in his basement, in his pajamas, at 12:30 in the morning the night before moving across the country, with another one of those damn kids clinging to him.

And now she was sniffling on his chest. _Great_.

"Mr. Forman, I've ruined _everything_! I should have told him Yes as soon as he asked me but I was afraid I'd just end up losing him again and I couldn't handle that because what happened in Chicago was so horrible and…"

Jackie could barely catch her breath between her crying and her dramatics. She was so caught up that she didn't even hear the basement door open, or Hyde walk inside. His eyes narrowed, confused by the scene in front of him.

"…I just love him so mu-u-uch!" she finally choked out, her words dissolving into sobs.

Red turned his head toward Hyde and opened his arms even wider, far from Jackie's body. He shot him a pleading look, asking for a little help with the mess of a girl wrapped around him. Hyde only raised his eyebrows, still thinking about what Jackie had just said.

Realizing he wouldn't be getting rescued by Hyde, Red placed his hands on Jackie's shoulders and pushed her gently, trying to extricate himself from her tight hold.

"Jackie, for God's sake, stop this."

Hyde finally decided to intervene. "No, no, no, no. Let her finish. I want to hear the rest."

Jackie jumped away from Red, snapping her head toward Hyde's voice. She was confused and searched his face for an explanation. All she found was a grin.

"Steven? What are you-? I thought you left."

"Nah, I was packing up the El Camino. My home's being yanked out from under me tomorrow, remember?"

Jackie was embarrassed that she had jumped to conclusions and made such a scene. Why was she always so dramatic? And why did she have to do it in front of Steven? Even worse, her eyes were probably all puffy and God only knew what shape her mascara was in.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear your profession of undying love." He was being smug and it infuriated Jackie. Okay, most of the time it kind of turned her on, but this time? It was infuriating.

She balled up her fists at her sides and glared at him. "I could kill you right now, Steven."

Red threw his hands up in defeat, rolling his eyes. These kids were ridiculous. Always with the breaking up and making up, yelling at each other one minute and sucking each other's faces off the next. He didn't know who was worse, Eric and Donna or these two.

He turned to Hyde, peering at him. "Son, are you _sure_ you want to move to Madison with this?" He jerked his thumb and head in Jackie's direction. Hyde's only response was to smile wider.

"You're a braver man than I." Red headed for the stairwell, walking up slowly and shaking his head. "We could've used a few more like you in Korea." His voice faded away as he reached the top of the stairs.

Jackie was still glaring at Hyde, her hands on her hips. Undeterred, Hyde walked slowly toward her until they were directly in front of one another.

"Steven! You ruined _everything_!"

Hyde jumped abruptly to the left, hoping to spare his shins from an attack by Jackie's size fives.

"Don't worry, Steven. I'm not going to kick you."

Hyde's face relaxed. He moved closer to her again, causing Jackie to raise her finger in front of his chest. "But I am mad at you."

He knew Jackie's tone. This was not her Angry voice. He still remembered the cold, steely edge that it had when she broke up with him the first time. No, this was her Pouty voice. The one she used when something hadn't gone according to the fairy tale she had planned. It used to piss him off sometimes, but hearing everything she had said to Red had put him in a pretty good mood, so he played along. He knew she had something she needed to get off her chest.

"What did I do now?"

Jackie threw up her arms and laid into him. "You robbed me of my moment in the spotlight! I was supposed to rush in here, calling your name, and you were supposed to be sitting in the dark, lovingly caressing my picture, with a solitary tear running down your cheek. I even had a beautiful speech planned for you, all about how I love you and I want us to be together again and I didn't even get a chance to deliver it."

She was whining like a little girl, but it only made Hyde smile wider. God, he had missed her ramblings.

"Sure you did, baby. You just delivered it to Red's shoulder, that's all." Hyde's familiar teasing, not to mention the fact that he called her 'baby', caused a tiny smile to creep onto Jackie's face as well. When he reached over to gently nudge her chin up with his finger, she felt such a surge of love for him, she thought her heart would burst. "And, hey, didn't I give you your fifteen minutes of fame back at the party? You had practically every busybody in Point Place riveted. You love that crap, remember?"

Jackie considered Hyde's reasoning. Maybe he was on to something. Everyone _had_ been staring at her, and not like they did when her dad was sent up the river or after the Get Off My Boyfriend disaster. They had all seen that Jackie Burkardt was fabulous enough to steal the heart of a tough, orphaned rebel who had sworn off finding true happiness, and inspire him to declare his love for her publicly. Okay, so the love declaration actually took place in private, but still. It was implied.

She gasped. "Steven, you're right!" Her hand flew to her chest. "It _was_ my moment. It was dramatic and suspenseful and romantic all at the same time. And there were at least forty people there. That's _so_ much better than a speech in an empty basement."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Thank you, Steven," she said as she flung herself into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her firmly, closing his eyes and breathing in the familiar smell of her hair. He thought about how close he came to never feeling this again, and squeezed her even tighter.

"So," he began, pulling her hair out from in front of his mouth, "It was kind of hard to tell with all the crying and yelling, but…did I hear something about you wanting me to come to Madison?"

Jackie pulled back and looked up into Hyde's eyes. She nodded softly and smiled, biting her lower lip.

Hyde tilted his head back slightly and released his breath. "I was hoping you'd say that, 'cause all my crap's already in the car and I _really_ didn't want to have to move in with Leo."

Jackie let out a gasp of protest and slapped him playfully on the chest. She knew he was kidding, though, and she smiled at him warmly. Hyde chuckled a little, pleased with himself, and smiled back.

Jackie's breath caught in her throat as she closed her eyes and prepared for the kiss she knew he was about to give her. It had been so long since she had enjoyed Steven's kisses, but she remembered them vividly, and the anticipation alone made her weak in the knees.

After several seconds, Jackie opened her eyes. Hyde was just looking at her, grinning. She rolled her eyes, groaning in frustration as she grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled his face down to hers. She kissed him long and deep and hard. Hyde responded quickly, putting every bit of love and want and ache he had felt over the last six months into devouring her mouth.

When their kiss finally slowed and then broke, Jackie buried her face in Hyde's neck and he turned his head to kiss her temple.

She sighed into his neck. "Steven, I can't believe you're willing to give up your record store just to be with me. What's your dad going to say?"

"Well, I actually already told him and he said something along the lines of 'You can have the store in Madison, too'."

Jackie jerked her head up from Hyde's shoulder. "Too!"

"Yeah. Randy's gonna manage the Point Place store for me and I'll run the other one. But they're both mine." He said it casually, but it was a big deal. And he _knew_ Jackie would be ecstatic.

"Oh my God, you have a chain!" She squealed, but then her eyes clouded over and her voice became husky. "You have never been sexier than you are right now." She flew into his arms again.

They groped at one another frantically, mouths everywhere, hands tangled up in each other's clothes and hair. Finally, having taken their passion as far as they could fully- clothed, they broke apart. Breathing heavily, Hyde spoke first. "So…what do you want to do now?"

Jackie arched one eyebrow. "I'm not opposed to doing it."

Hyde smiled knowingly, but then looked at her seriously. "Do you think maybe we should wait? I mean, we just got back-"

He was cut off by the look on Jackie's face. She meant business.

They stood facing each other for a moment, silent, until they lunged at each other once again. Jackie tugged at the hem of Hyde's t-shirt, prompting him to jerk it up over his head and toss it to the floor before returning his mouth to hers. Jackie stepped out of her shoes while Hyde reached behind her back and unzipped her dress. Still kissing, he quickly pulled the straps down over her shoulders and she wiggled out of it.

The moment she was free of her dress and left standing in her slip, Hyde bent down and grabbed her around the back of her thighs. He threw her over his shoulder and headed towards his bedroom while she pointed at her dress lying in a ball on the floor, meekly protesing, "My dress is going to wrinkle, Steven!" Hyde's only response as they passed through the doorway was to slap her on the ass and kick the door closed with his foot.

_The next morning… _

The Forman family and Eric's friends were gathered in the driveway. Red bent over the engine of his car and held out his right hand. Jackie handed him the cap to the oil tank and held the flashlight steady so he could see to screw it on.

"Well, that ought to do it." He let the hood fall closed and turned to Jackie. "Thanks, kid." He let her hug him and even kissed her on the forehead. He whispered something to her that no one else could hear, but it must have been pretty nice because Jackie had tears in her eyes when she pulled away from him.

Red then walked over to Eric, who was standing awkwardly next to Hyde. He cleared his throat. "Listen. You two morons won't have me around, supporting you anymore, so turn off the lights when you're not using them and keep the thermostat set at 68 degrees." He kept talking, hoping it would dislodge the lump in his throat. "And don't open the windows when the air-conditioning's running. You don't need to-"

"-refridgerate the whole neighborhood. We know, Dad."

"Well, you don't."

Red quietly extended his hand first to Eric and then to Hyde, before muttering, "Aw screw it," and pulling them both into a hug. Donna and Jackie looked on.

"How sweet!" Donna teased. All three men pulled apart from each other and told her where she could stick it.

Kitty came up behind them. "Girls, don't forget to call us in Florida once your phone is hooked up. I want to hear all about your little apartment." She hugged both Donna and Jackie tearfully.

"Mom, I told you, like, a hundred times that we will."

Kitty spun turned her attention to her son. "Well, I'm not sure I can count on you to tell me _anything_, seeing as both times you've gotten engaged you've kept it a secret from me!"

Eric just shook his head in defeat and stepped away.

Hyde put his arm around Kitty. "Don't worry, Mrs. Forman. When Jackie and I get engaged, you'll be the first to know."

Kitty patted his cheek. "That's a good boy." Hyde smiled sweetly.

Eric coughed into his fist. "Mama's boy." Hyde scowled and frogged him in the arm as he walked past.

Kelso and Fez approached Kitty sheepishly. "Goodbye Mrs. Forman / Goodbye Miss Kitty."

She stood on her tiptoes to pull Kelso into a hug first. "Now, Michael, you take care of that baby. Send me lots and lots of pictures." She looked over her shoulder to see if Red was listening. "And tell your brother I said 'goodbye'," she added, giggling.

Next it was Fez's turn. "Oh, Fez. I've watched you grow up before my very eyes, from a wide-eyed innocent boy to…having affairs with my high school friends," she finished awkwardly. "You stay out of trouble in Chicago. Both of you." She looked from Fez to Kelso and back again. "You know what? I'm just going to have to be calling to check on you, too, that's all there is to it."

Both boys beamed.

"Okay, Kitty. It's time to go. We've got to get a move on if we want to beat Bob to Florida. He left a good ten minutes ago."

"Right." She rolled her eyes and climbed into the passenger seat. Eric followed her and leaned on the open door.

"I love you, Mom."

Kitty tried to blink the tears in her eyes away, but they spilled over her cheeks. "I love you, too, Eric."

He leaned into the car and kissed her on the cheek, then pulled back and closed the car door gently. He walked around the front of the car and joined Donna where she was standing next to Hyde and Jackie, and Kelso and Fez. They all waved as the car rolled down the driveway, turned onto the street and disappeared from sight.

They were all silent for a moment until Kelso spoke up. "Well, Fez and I will be leaving for Chicago in an hour or so, and you guys'll be off to Madison, so…one last time?"

Fez smiled. "I thought you'd never ask." He followed Kelso through the sliding door.

Donna looked at Eric and shrugged. "One more couldn't hurt, I guess. We don't have to be responsible college students for another day or two."

"Excellent reasoning. Are you sure you don't want to go Pre-Law?"

Donna laughed as she and Eric entered the house, leaving only Jackie and Hyde remaining in the driveway.

Hyde turned to Jackie, who was grinning. "Well?"

Her smile widened as she sauntered closer to him. "You told Kitty-"

He cut her off. "I know, I know. Just get in the house."

Jackie stood on her tip-toes to kiss him lightly on the lips, then floated into the kitchen. Hyde exhaled deeply and followed.

_Moments later…_

The six friends sat in a circle on the floor of the now-empty basement. A cloudy haze surrounded them.

"Man, my basement looks so weird like this. What is always this dreary?"

"Yes." Donna was emphatic. "We just never wanted to tell you."

"Actually, Donna, you did tell him. Remember? You guys were broken up and you were going out with my brother?"

"Ixnay on the aseycay, Kelso. That is a bad memory for our friend Eric."

"Look Fez, if we're going to be roommates, you're going to have to quit using your native language. You're practically an American now. Speak English!"

Jackie looked around the room from her spot on Hyde's lap. "Eric, you're right. This place is ugly. And those awful posters you had up didn't help much either. You know, I'd be happy to do all the decorating at our new apartment!"

Eric and Donna looked at Hyde threateningly.

"You know what Jackie? Why don't you just stick to _our_ room? You don't want Donna taking the credit for your hard work, do you?"

"That's a great idea, Steven!" She hugged his neck.

Kelso and Fez looked at them with disgust.

"Hey! Don't judge! You don't know the power of the kangaroo!"

_Thirty minutes later…_

The stash was depleted and the smoke had cleared. The kids rose to their feet awkwardly, not knowing what to say. So many words had been spoken between them in this place: silly, ridiculous, helpful, insightful, hurtful, prophetic, life-altering words. But now, none would come to them.

As they walked across the room, they each turned around slowly to survey the room that had been their haven through their teenage years. Memories flooded their minds: of eating popsicles, hiding from Red, playing stupid games, planning pranks just because they were bored. Memories of running up the stairs and hopping over the couch. Memories of smoking and drinking, laughing and crying, breaking up and making up and making out. Memories of wrestling for fun and fighting for real. They all knew this place was more than just a basement.

For Kelso, it was where he had spent the most fun times of his life. He had conducted ill-advised experiments, lit things on fire, and glued himself to more things than he could count. What he would remember most, thought, was that in this place, he was understood. He could say whatever was on his mind, no matter how ridiculous or far-fetched or offensive. Outside, nobody took him seriously. But in the basement, he was The King.

For Fez, it was where he learned how to be American. He drank his first beer, smoked his first joint, listened to his first Ted Nugent record, planned his first act of vandalism, unhooked his first bra, met his first wife. It was where he made his first and best American friends. He was teased and tormented, but he was also cheered and protected. And it was where he first felt a part of something.

For Donna, it was where she felt normal, even special. In the basement, it didn't matter that her parents were whack-jobs or that she had ugly red hair or even that she was stronger than all the guys. They respected her for it; they _worshipped_ her for it. They were the Lost Boys and she was their Wendy. In the basement, she found her first and only girlfriend and the love of her life. It was where she found her future.

For Jackie, it was the only place that she felt real. Before the basement, nobody saw her as anything more a rich, popular cheerleader. She wasn't even sure there _was_ more to her until she made real friends who demanded she be more. They didn't let her get away with being bossy and self-centered just because she was beautiful. They insisted she pull her weight and pay her dues with the rest of them. Because of them, she found out that she was smarter and stronger than she ever knew and she found more happiness than she ever thought possible.

For Hyde, it was where he had been given a chance: a chance to be safe and clothed and fed; a chance to be cared for by people who gave a damn whether he came home at night or went to school or got arrested; a chance to figure himself out and make mistakes, knowing someone had his back; a chance to believe that a poor orphan could have a happily-ever-after, even with the head cheerleader. A chance to call someplace home.

For Eric, it was where he was appreciated. He wasn't just the dumbass kid who couldn't throw the ball right or screwed up the lawn or got called Foreskin at school. In the basement, with his friends, he was funny. He was smart and adventurous and sometimes, even cool. Cool enough to win the heart of the redhead next door. And he was the glue that held them all together.

Without him, there wouldn't have been a place for Kelso to be understood, or Fez to belong, or Donna to feel normal or Jackie to learn to be real or Hyde to have a chance.

All six of them stood near the door, offering each other small smiles, knowing that they were saying goodbye to the basement, but never to each other. They slowly made their way through the doorway and into the stairwell, Kelso's hand resting on Fez's shoulder, Hyde holding Jackie's hand firmly in his, and Eric's arm slung around Donna's waist. Before passing through the door for the final time, Eric ran his hand down the wall and turned off the lights.

Then he closed the door behind him.


End file.
